Changelly is a somewhat controversial, but very popular cryptocurrency exchange service. You can read on for a detailed review of the Changelly exchange.
About the Company
Changelly – an online cryptocurrency exchange, is famed for its set-up. In order to trade on Changelly, you simply need to visit the site. There are no accounts or identity verification prompts, and this is the main benefit of the Changelly exchange.
The company was founded in 2015 in Malta and has been operating from there ever since.
In order to provide customers with fast, and easy transactions, Changelly employs the capabilities of an automated trading bot.
The trading bot is integrated with some of the largest global cryptocurrency exchanges, like Bittrex and Binance, and uses them to perform exchanges and transactions. In order to get the best possible rates for customers, the bot bids on different exchanges and selects the most appropriate exchange option for each transaction.
Services and functionalities
Changelly is a very versatile cryptocurrency exchange, which is available online, on through a mobile app, and through integrated interfaces in several third-party wallets, like Coinomi and Ledger.
Not only that, but Changelly creators have also developed an API widget, which can be featured on different websites, in order to provide on-site exchange services.
The widget is easy to integrate, and functions just as well as the online exchange, but without the need to visit its dedicated website.
Users visiting the Changelly website can also benefit from Bitcoin credit card purchases, but you can learn more about this later in the guide.
While the biggest advantage of Changelly is that it does not require users to go through verification processes, the company has stated that such a process might be required from users, whose transactions and activity seem suspicious.
How to get started and trade on Changelly
- Go to the Changelly website
2. Register with your email, Google Plus, Twitter, or Facebook account
3. Confirm your email address
4. Select a currency pair – you can directly search for the tokens you need in the search bar
5. Carefully preview the details of your transaction, including the fees you are going to pay and the estimated time for transaction approval
6. Enter your receiving wallet address
7. Verify transaction details
8. Wait for your transaction approval and arrival – depending on the cryptocurrency pair you are trading this might take minutes, or several hours.
- Supported currencies and payment methods
Currently, Changelly offers trades between more than one hundred and fifty (150) different tokens. The wide array of possible trading pairs allows users to trade between altcoins in virtually no time, as there is no verification process needed.
Not only that but unlike more-recognized platforms where there is only a small number of trading pairs, users on Changelly can freely exchange between any of the supported tokens. This is one advantage compared to more traditional services, where in order to get to a specific altcoin, users sometimes must exchange two or three different times.
To view all cryptocurrencies currently available on the Changelly exchange, click here.
In the past several months, Changelly also rolled out a fiat to crypto exchange feature. Unfortunately, users have to be extremely careful when using this, as sometimes the fees for such conversions are unimaginably high.
Fees
So far everything seems great when it comes to Changelly, right? Well here comes the only catch.
Changelly fees are the only drawback of this cryptocurrency exchange service. There is a static fee of half a percent (0.25%) on every crypto to crypto transactions.
While this might seem rather competitive (and it is for certain crypto pairs), depending on the specific pair you are looking to trade, you might be able to find significantly lower fees on exchanges like Bitstamp, or even Kraken.
The more worrying problem with Changelly is the fees it charges for fiat conversions. While the company claims that the same static fee of half a percent applies to fiat conversions as well, this is not really the case.
Numerous customers have expressed their dissatisfaction with extremely unfavorable conversion rates. This discrepancy between the fee announced and what is actually taken from customers comes from the fact that in order to process fiat transactions, Changelly must turn to third-party payment processors like Simplex, or Indacoin.
These third-party providers vary their prices by the second, which is why the static fee Changelly claims to charge, is in fact, very dynamic, and often damaging to the customers.
The same goes for buying crypto on Changelly. Credit card purchases on Changelly are once again handled by third-party services, which makes the fees users have to pay skyrocket. With less popular tokens, there is also the case of double conversion, as service providers first convert your fiat to Bitcoin, and then to the desired altcoin.
Purchasing limits
Changelly has not set a limit for crypto to crypto exchanges. This means that you can exchange any amount of one token into another, and however many times you want, without concerns that you might be suspended from the exchange.
When it comes to purchases with fiat currency, there are the following limitations, for each region:
- United States, Canada, and Australia
o A fifty dollars ($50) limit for the first transaction
o Next purchase available in four days, with a limit of one hundred dollars ($100)
o Third purchase available in seven days, with a limit of five hundred dollars ($500)
o No more than three purchases for the first week
o No monthly limits
- Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus – (CIS region)
o Two hundred dollars ($200) limit for the first transaction
o First limit increase in twenty-four hours
o Weekly limit of two thousand dollars ($2,000)
o Monthly limit of ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
- European Union and other countries
o One hundred dollars ($100) limit for the first transaction
o Next purchase available in four days, with a limit of two hundred dollars ($200)
o Third purchase available in seven days, with a limit of five hundred dollars ($500)
o No more than six purchases for the first week
o No monthly limit
If you are looking to purchase Bitcoins with your credit card, the following limits will apply:
- First transaction limit – $50 to $10,000
- Daily transaction limit – $20,000
- Monthly transaction limit – $50,000
Availability
According to the official Changelly website, the services provided are available to everyone except countries featured on the United Nations Security Council Sanctions List.
Other than the list, customers in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Crimea, Sudan, Syria, the United States of America (including all USA territories like Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Island, and the US Virgin Islands (St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas), Bangladesh and Bolivia are restricted from using the Changelly exchange.
Customer support
In terms of customer support, Changelly is famed for quick response times and overall positive feedback by customers.
Out of more than a thousand reviews on Trustpilot, Changelly has an average score of four and a half stars.
While the overall score is excellent, Changelly has a lot of one-star reviews related to the shady fees policy on certain transactions.
Other than the concerning practices and constantly shifting exchange rates provided by Simplex and Indacoin, Changelly is providing a good service according to customers.
Changelly’s response rate is also impeccable, as the company takes the time to answer every individual review, and query posted on their website.
The exchange also has an extensive Frequently Asked Questions page, which can be very helpful for first-time users.
Updates – 21 Nov 2019
Changelly will now implement the prices of digital assets from Bitcoin.com’s trading platform. It will help boost the popularity of its SLP tokens currently listed on the exchange Bitcoin.com and also improve its market rates with live prices.
Beginning September 2019, Changelly has effectively halved the fees for every crypto exchange. The current fee is a mere 0.25% and is among the lowest in cryptocurrency exchanges.
Changelly has launched its iOS mobile app for trading and transaction purposes. The app supports the same features and functionalities along with 0.25% fee. The exchange also launched an Android-based app in 2019 to cover its mobile users.
Changelly’s team has added a fixed rates option which is currently available in their mobile app and via API. Choosing this, their clients are no longer bothered about the volatility that could reflect on the final amount of crypto they receive.
Conclusion
In essence, Changelly is a very effective tool for fast and simple crypto to crypto transactions.
Changelly Pros:
- Allows anonymous transactions, without verification of identity
- Fixed transaction fee for crypto exchanges
- Trusted by customers
- Large variety of altcoins supported
Changelly Cons:
- Unclear about exchange rates when purchasing crypto with fiat currency
- Third-party exchange rates vary, not always to customers’ benefit
Changelly is a trusted cryptocurrency exchange, which has a good track record. The main thing the company could do to become even better is to show more transparency and disclose the varying rates third-party payment processors provide.
It was made known to me lately that the rate for certain chosen pairs may undergo minor changes during the exchange process as this is “natural and typical” for all exchange services. It might also be noted that some users even benefit from this situation finally getting even more than was promised with the rate estimated before the transaction was confirmed.
